It's known somewhat insidiously as the "Sophomore Jinx". It's when students who scored an impressive "3.0" during their freshman campaign, return for their second year with a crashing "1.5'. It's when a rookie left fielder hits 40 home runs, only to end up on the disabled list during his sophomore season. And it's when a first-time-out rock and roll unit scored platnium success with their widely-hailed debut only to suffer through the humiliation of failure and rejection when they relase their second disc.
To put it mildly, the Sophomore Jinx is exactly what silverchair is trying to avoid in 1997. As they prepare to hit the tour trail in support of their all-important second album Freak Show- the follow-up to 1995's triple platnium smash, Frogstomp- these teen-aged Australian aces know that there are many potential pitfalls and roadblocks standing in their path. The rock history books are littered with the names of unsuspecting victims of the dreaded Sphomore Jinx, groups with once-prominent names like Ratt, Skid Row and White Lion, all of whom were in the not-so-distant past, staples of raddio and MTV, only to now be little more than trivia book answere to rarely asked musical questions. Of course, odds are that silverchair's Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou haven't even heard of the likes of Ratt- after all when that band was enjoying its mid-'80's heyday, these boys were all of 5 years old! But none-the-less, the lessone of rock history have not been lost on these still-impressionable, highly motivated and extremely intelligent young rockers.
"Everyone wanted to know what we're going to do next," Johns said. "What we did next was make some new music. We dont' feel any extra pressure on ourselves with Freak Show just because the first album seemed to do as well as it did. We really had little to do with that; we gave our music to the people who run our recoed company in Australia, and they kind of did the rest. I imagine that's what will happen this time as well. We finished the new recoed, handed the tapes over, then kind of forget about it for awhile. Once we've done our part, there's really little else for us to do."
Of cours,e Johns may be being more than a little modest concerning the role silverchair played in helping turn Frogstomp into such an incredible international phenomenon. Their willingness to deal on a virtually non-stop basis with all members of the press, spend countless hours creating music videos for such songs as Pure Massacre and Israel's Son, and tour the world for the better part of a year (with time off to take their school exams), was the real secret behind silverchair's suprise success story. Yes, the fact that these boys were all of 15 when they recorded their debut disc helped fuel the pumps of media and fan interest, and yes, their heavy Aussie-cum-Seattle sound seemed tailor made for the quixotic tastes of the mid-'90's. But to anyone with eyes and ears, it was obvious that there was not one "secret" ingredient that helped propel the Silverboys to stardom- raather it was a heady combination of all the ingredients mentioned above. Now the question becomes one of whether or not Johns and his musical buds are ready, able and willing to do it all over again.
"We liked almost everything about what happened to us," the singer/guitarist said. "Maybe the one thing that bothered us was when people- especially members of our crew- treated us like kids. We were the ones who had to go back to the hotel after a show and have a hamburger and a Coke while they were out having a good time. And we were the ones who had to have our mothers come out on the road with us. Well, we love our crew and we love our moms, but things are going to be a little different this time around."
While they may want to ditch their moms and party with the crew this time around there's also much that silverchair want to maintain from their heady 1995 days. What did three now-almost-18 rockers with a multi-platnium album under their belts want to create on their second disc? Were they content to just let a natural musical maturation process carry their riff-heavy tunes in new and exciting directions? Or on new songs like Slave and Learn to Hate did these guys try to force the issue and boldly explore musical lands and new artistic styles. According to the band's fast-maturing members, the answer to all these questions is a resounding "both"! Apparently on Freak Show silverchair has attempted to maintain many of the musical qualities that made their debut so appealing, while purposefully injecting a variety of new and far-more-experimental elements into their basic approach. Perhaps it is the band's back-handed way of once-again avoiding comparisons to the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam... or perhaps it it just a sign that these teenaged Aussies are growing up.
"The music is differentt, yet it's definitely silverchair," a band insider revealed. "I think Daniel in particular is anxious to show off a littlle- especially in how he's matured over the last two years. After all, there should be a big difference in the workings of three 16 year-olds who had never ventured far from their homes in Newcastle, and three yound men who've seen the world. If there wasn't signifigant growth I think everyone would be surprised. But, on the other hand, so many of the things that made the first album so appealing are there again this time. It's really a quite magical album. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this one is received even more warmly than their debut was."
Now that their second venture has been release to rave reviews, silverchair is chomping at the proverbial bit to return to the road, a place where their highly emotive sound won constand praise from fans and critics alike. this time out, however, it seems likely that Daniel, Chris and Ben will work a little harder on their stage presentation, moving around a little bit more and trying to incorporate more vistual excitement into their show. At times on the last tour it seemed as if the members of silverchair were glued in place, standing on stage, head down, feet spread apart, focusing squarely on playing their instruments. Next time, Johns promises fans may even get to see the whites of silverchair's eyes.
"In the beginning of the tour, we were kind of nervous," he said. "But we got a lot better about that as time moved along. by the end of the tour I think we had really gotten the hang of it. There's a lot to learn about rock and roll that goes beyond just making good music. I think we've learned a lot of those lessons... but there are still so many more to learn."